With an eye for the unrealistic, “The Office” star Rainn Wilson has taken a moment to expose the truth behind motivational quotes people have been posting to their Facebook pages. His method of bringing reality to light? A new online video titled “Your Facebook Is False.”
“Hi there. I’m Rainn Wilson, and these are your inspirational Facebook quotes, Internet,” the actor says in the video as he begins to assess a list of posts made by college kids.
“ ‘I live for nights I’ll never remember with the friends I’ll never forget,’ ” Wilson quotes from the page of a University of Texas student before quickly offering his own clarification. “False. Humans live to mate and procreate the species.”
The video was posted to YouTube on Wednesday and is part of a larger series called “Malarious,” a charity project between CollegeHumor.com and Malaria No More. The project was created to raise money and awareness for the global malaria epidemic. It features 30 celebrities and 24 videos, and encourages viewers to donate to Malaria No More to help fight the disease caused by “millions of stupid, awful, disgusting mosquitoes.” Stars who have participated include Elizabeth Banks, Joss Whedon, Ed Helms, Brooklyn Decker and David Arquette.
In his skit, Wilson discredits a wide variety of popular quotes about judging others, fear, and finding happiness. The actor gets to the bottom of the encouraging statements posted to Facebook by offering his own objective interpretations pulled from scientific statements, all while maintaining his typical deadpan.
“ ‘The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself,’ ” Wilson reads before commenting, “False. The most difficult thing in the world is neurological microsurgery of the brain.”
The actor closes with one of the most ubiquitous popular sayings, Mahatma Gandhi’s famous expression, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
Not possible, says Wilson. “Change is a transitive verb, not a corporeal body -- human or otherwise. Sorry, Gandhi.”
With that, he smacks his laptop shut and walks off.
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